12 killed in Philippines ambush on mayor

Twelve people have been killed in an ambush on a Philippines mayor on southern Mindanao, officials said.

Local military commander Colonel Ricardo Jalad said gunmen opened fire on a truck carrying Mayor Abdulmalik Manamparan and his supporters late Thursday.

He said several victims were relatives of the mayor.

The ambush is the deadliest of a string of violent incidents that have marred the campaign for May elections.

"They killed my granddaughter," Mr Manamparan said.

The 62-year-old mayor was being treated for a shrapnel wound that grazed his head.

Another seven people were injured in the attack.

The ambush took place on a remote mountain near Nunungan town as the mayor and his party travelled home from a campaign event.

The attack is the latest episode of political violence in the Philippines, which will hold elections on May 13.

A running police tally lists 30 deaths from 45 other violent incidents reported since the start of the campaign in February.

In November 2009, clan members on Mindanao abducted and murdered 58 people including relatives of a local rival who was planning to challenge the clan leader in gubernatorial elections the following year.

Mr Manamparan, of the opposition Nationalist People's Coalition party, is the mayor of the mainly Muslim town of Nunungan.

The predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao have a reputation for deadly clan wars, sometimes lasting generations. The island is also wracked by insurgencies waged by Muslim and communist rebels.

Mr Manamparan is standing for the lower post of vice-mayor, with his son and namesake running for mayor. His son was not among the casualties.